"The markets are repricing for lower growth and expectations of Fed cuts."
Stocks plunged while bonds surged higher Friday after the government reported payrolls in August fell for the first time in four years rather than rising as had been expected. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points.
Investors were unpleasantly surprised by the Labor Department's report that payrolls fell by 4,000 in August, the first decline since August 2003. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.6 percent as expected.
Wall Street has been awaiting the report as it tries to determine how well the economy is holding up under the weight of a faltering housing market, a rise in mortgage defaults and tightening availability of credit. While the report is backward looking and not predictive, investors regard it as an important reading of the economy's health.
lördag 8 september 2007
Farmers Struggle With Insurance Costs
"Those who purchase insurance in the non-group market are more likely to face financial strains due to medical costs than other insured people"
The cost of health care in the U.S. is putting a pinch on many family farmers and ranchers who struggle to pay high premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, a new report has found.
About 90 percent of the more than 2,000 farmers and ranchers who were surveyed said they had some sort of health coverage, according to the 2007 Health Insurance Survey of Farm and Ranch Operators released Thursday.
However, many complained of high premiums, and more than a quarter said high out-of-pocket insurance costs were creating financial problems, the report found.
The cost of health care in the U.S. is putting a pinch on many family farmers and ranchers who struggle to pay high premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, a new report has found.
About 90 percent of the more than 2,000 farmers and ranchers who were surveyed said they had some sort of health coverage, according to the 2007 Health Insurance Survey of Farm and Ranch Operators released Thursday.
However, many complained of high premiums, and more than a quarter said high out-of-pocket insurance costs were creating financial problems, the report found.
Lehman, National City Scale Back
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and National City Corp. said Thursday more than 2,000 workers will be laid off as the financial institutions scale back their struggling mortgage businesses.
The moves represent just the latest wave of layoffs in the mortgage industry, which is suffering from decaying credit quality, slipping home prices, and a drainage of demand among investors and banks for home loans.
Two weeks after closing its BNC Mortgage LLC subsidiary, Lehman Brothers said it is winding down some of its U.S. and U.K. home lending businesses. The Wall Street brokerage is laying off 850 people, closing its Korean mortgage business, and folding its businesses in the U.S., Japan and Europe into a single unit called Lehman Mortgage Capital.
The moves represent just the latest wave of layoffs in the mortgage industry, which is suffering from decaying credit quality, slipping home prices, and a drainage of demand among investors and banks for home loans.
Two weeks after closing its BNC Mortgage LLC subsidiary, Lehman Brothers said it is winding down some of its U.S. and U.K. home lending businesses. The Wall Street brokerage is laying off 850 people, closing its Korean mortgage business, and folding its businesses in the U.S., Japan and Europe into a single unit called Lehman Mortgage Capital.
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